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THE TASTEVINAGE

In 1950, the founders and organisers of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin thought that in order to ensure their success, the wines whose sale they were promoting should be of high quality. One means of making sure they would be to grant a seal of quality if certain conditions were fulfilled. this was the beginning of the Tastevinage.

Every year, the Confrérie des Chevalier du Tastevin organises two Tastevinage sessions at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot, one in the spring, a second in the autumn. In so doing, it underlines the role it has played since its foundation, which is to promote the quality of the great wines of Burgundy.

The Tastevinage consist of a rigorous examination which enables the stamp of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin to be granted to those wines of Burgundy which correspond faithfully to their appellation and their vintage, so that wine lovers will be able to identify those bottles which, by their honesty, their character and their undoubted quality deserved this distinction.

Twice yearly, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin brings together a jury consisting of more than 250 tasters selected from an élite of connoisseurs and discriminating palate : famous wine-growers, major wine merchants, heads of viticultural unions, cooperatives, wine-brokers, oenologists, officials from the government's services, restaurant owners, enlightened amateurs.

The selection process is rigorous : approximately only a third of the lots presented are accepted and so entitled to display the coveted seal. In the course of its existence, a wine which has been awarded the Tastevinage seal is or may be subjected to different inspection processes : analysis of each lot received is carried out by an authorised laboratory ; test samples are kept in the Tastevinage oenological library ; to guarantee traceability, bottles are regularly taken for further analysis from different European retail outlets.

In rewarding the producer for the quality of his wine and providing the consumer with an extra guarantee of quality, the twin aims of the Tastevinage have been fulfilled.